If you have a strong opinion about politics and think you live in a country that allows you to freely express it, think again. It you are a journalist or an artist and believe that you work in a protected, sacred space, think again. We are the kind of people that Donald Trump wants to hunt down and destroy.

Donald Trump’s recent comments at a Fort Worth, Texas, rally show that, if elected president, he intends to gut the First Amendment (the full speech can be seen on YouTube searching under “Trump Rally Fort Worth speech”):

One of the things I’m going to do, and this is going to make it tougher for me … but one of the things I’m going to do if I win … is I’m going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. We’re going to open up those libel laws. So that when The New York Times writes a hit piece, which is a total disgrace, or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they’re totally protected.

This is an old school, KGB, “hunt down the dissenters” ideology.

As each day passes, Mr. Trump reveals that he would be exactly the kind of totalitarian dictator from whom refugees flee. I personally know a man from Iran who was imprisoned for publishing a cartoon that exposed his country’s lack of free speech. Once released, he made his way to the United States. Under a President Trump, America would no longer be an option for those seeking freedom like my friend.

For people who are just angry at the media, maybe such an outrageous statement by Trump makes sense in an obtuse way. But let’s take a deeper look. Let’s define, in the context of Trump’s entire modus operandi, what he means by “purposefully negative and horrible and false articles.”

What Trump means by this is anything that he determines is "negative" or "horrible" and "false.“ He believes that he is the ultimate authority.

Trump also believes that he can determine a person’s motives. He can judge whether something was "purposefully negative, horrible and false.” Really? How can he say that a person’s article was "purposefully horrible"? He wants the intent to be whatever he determines the intent is.

Trump wants to dictate what is and isn’t acceptable speech, just as dictators do. He seeks to dictate what speech is right and wrong, what is “negative” and what is “horrible” or what is even a “total disgrace.”

When he doesn’t like something that is written about him, Trump’s action plan is to “sue them” and “win money.” Truthfully, I have never heard anyone be so honest about why they are suing another person. He’s not saying “sue them” and “support justice,” he’s saying “sue them” and “win money.” Really? Does the man need more money? Why does he want to take money from other people all the time?

Trump is nothing more than a schoolyard bully trying to shake down everyone else’s lunch money. He needs to feed his gluttonous appetite for power and control, and will do so at any cost — including gutting the First Amendment.

This is a man who represents everything evil about Big Business, crony capitalism and the "kill everyone along the way" race for power.

Mr. Trump has the maturity of a bad, spoiled teen who is trying to prove that he can bed any woman, win any lawsuit, and destroy any opposition. He is like an out-of-control child who is trying to prove to Mom and Dad that he can make his own rules and that nothing applies to him — no rule, not authority, not even the law.

Will the GOP really select Donald Trump as their presidential nominee?

Will we really vote our way to the obliteration of basic rights?